Utah State researcher concludes CBS' bush memos were typed on a typewriter

[milkyway]

It's probably too late to undo the damage, but a three week examination has concluded the documents appear authentic.

__________

"Toward Identifying The Font Used in The Bush Memos"

A Research Project Report

David E. Hailey, Jr., Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Director
Interactive Media Research Laboratory

ABSTRACT


The following evidence from a forensic examination of the Bush memos indicates that they were typed on a typewriter:


1. The specific font used is from a typewriter family in common use since 1905 and a typewriter capable of producing the spacing has been available since 1944.
2. The characters “e,” “t,” “s,” and “a” show indications of physical damage and/or wear consistent with a well used typewriter.
3. The characters that are seldom used show no signs of damage or wear.
4. The quality of individual characters is inconsistent throughout the memos beyond expectations from photocopying and/or digitizing but quality is consistent with worn platen and variations in paper quality.
5. Overlapping characters occasionally indicate paper deformation consistent with hammered impressions.
6. Critical indicators of digital production or cut and paste production are missing.


Implications are that there is nothing in this evidence that would indicate the memos are inauthentic. Furthermore, from the point of view of the physical evidence in the documents (excluding any rhetorical evidence or external evidence, which is not examined in this study) no amount of additional research on the part of CBS would have lead them to exclude the documents from their 60 Minutes report.

<much more>

http://imrl.usu.edu/bush_memo_study/index.htm

[noiretextatique]

1. where are all those who had "proof" the documents were fake?

i'd love to see that "proof" again.

[denverbill]

2. Oh, you people and your 'science'.

Who needs 'scientific analysis' when somebody on the radio said they were fakes?

[noiretextatique]

5. LOL...especially when there is "freeper junk science"

and the amazing word font trick that "proved" the documents were fake :D

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

7. yes...

DenverBill....explain to me once again how sheeps bladders may be used to predict the weather....this new science is amazing....

Support the Freeper Sheep Bladder Science Club! Ha!

[Gloria]

3. I wonder if CBS will report on this!!! Rather

said that they would continue to update on anything new...of course, that was before they caved, apologized, and found Dick Thornburg...

I'd love to see Rather report on this...if nothing else, it brings up the doubts about Bush again if the report is framed correctly....("There's new analysis tonight that indicates the likelihood that the CBS documents ....are real..........etc)

[NewJeffCT]

4. I was out of the country - can somebody summarize the Rather/memo thing?

Thanks - I just got back from China the other day and there is no way I'll be able to catch up with the news on this story...

can somebody give me a quick summary. As I was leaving, I remember some woman (ID'd on DU as a Republican operative) claiming the memos were forged...

Thanks - just bullet points, or a link to an unbiased article.

[DrWeird]

8. From what I gathered:

CBS did a report showing memos proving that Bush did not perform his duties at the TANG.

Immediately following the broadcast, far rightwing pundits claimed the memos were forgeries, based on:

superscripts

and

"proportional spacing"

That is, because these style of fonts are on the memo, they were made using a computer and thus were forgeries.

But this style of font was available to period typewriters.

CBS later admitted they had no way of proving that the memos were authentic, and their source was questionable.

[NewJeffCT]

10. thanks, I remember before I left

the controversary over proportional spacing & superscripts and some DUers pointing out that it was possible.

However, from what you are telling me is that the memos have not been proven false as of yet and that nobody has denied the content in them, but because of the RW echo chamber, nobody believes them or CBS anymore?

[DrWeird]

12. That's what I gather.

The memos haven't been proven false but because they haven't been proven true the "RW echo chamber" has declared them false.

Frankly, the only thing I've seen proven false is the RW "proof" that the memos are fake.

[Redleg]

6. Utah State U. is one of my alma maters!

Go Aggies! (Master of Social Science Degree, 1995)

[TexasSissy]

9. It may be best to wait until CBS' own investigation is over.

I'm going to wait until then, lest I make a fool out of myself (again). I really thought CBS would've checked that authenticity thing out, so I was resolutely behind CBS in a bipartisan forum I participate in, only to have a red face later.

I would LOVE for the docs to turn out to be authentic, or for Rove to have had them done, so I can post about that in that forum. But I'm hesitant to accept one investigator's article about it, since it's not a legal affidavit or sanctioned by CBS or someone else.

Why, there was even a poster here on DU who posted IMAGES of HIS OWN 1970ish service papers with THE SAME TYPE as the CBS memos. I wonder where that poster is now? I don't recall his name. It was pretty convincing.

[ItsMyParty]

11. I could scream how people missed that CBS simply could not

prove the authenticity of the documents which is different from they were proved to be a fake. Bush got by committing murder in public again (so to speak).